ISU Foundation pressured to open records
June 7, 2001
Several members of the ISU Foundation’s Board of Governors and ISU faculty are fighting to open the spending and donation records of the ISU Foundation.
“In an academic environment, it’s very difficult to argue against openness,” said Neil Harl, distinguished professor of economics.
Harl is a co-chair of Friends of Iowa State University, a group concerned about the publicity of a recent ISU Foundation gift.
The gift of concern is the donation of Marie Power’s farm to the ISU Agricultural Foundation in 1995.
In 1996 the Foundation went to court in order to sell the farm, even though Powers wrote in her will she was giving the farm to the Foundation “for the purpose of improving and maintaining the farmland and buildings thereon.”
On May 31 the group sent a letter signed by 47 people expressing their concerns to Interim President Richard Seagrave.
In the letter, the group’s concerns are “the apparent lack of guidelines within the management groups of the ISU Foundation in terms of carrying out the wishes of donors and the lack of access to donor information, the allocation of gift amounts and, most importantly, whether the stated desires of donors are carried out in the way gift amounts are allocated and invested.”
In Power’s case, the Foundation sold the farm, using the money from the estate to fund a scholarship.
This decision, among others made by the Foundation, is the reason Friends of Iowa State University believe that it should be subject to the Iowa Open Records Law, according to the letter.
“The group believes that recent publicity and the university response to that publicity have lessened the standing of Iowa State University not only among potential donors, but among Iowans generally,” the letter said. “By operating in nearly complete secrecy, the ISU Foundation is essentially accountable to no one except the small group responsible for management decisions.”
Barbara Forker, member of the ISU Foundation’s Board of Governors and distinguished professor emeritus of physical education, signed the Friends of Iowa State University letter.
“I think this is a general principle that I have supported for many years,” Forker said.
Forker has been a member of the Board of Governors since the 1970s.
In a response letter received Wednesday, Seagrave said he believes, in some cases, donors’ requests for anonymity are reasonable.
“The Foundation does not wish to detail some expenses because in the competitive world of fund-raising, this could give others knowledge of our fund-raising strategies and practices,” Seagrave said. “It could also compromise ongoing relationships with prospective donors.”
Forker disagrees, saying that argument isn’t valid.
“I am not experiencing this with people I know,” she said. “What I am hearing is concern among donors who want to withdrawal their funds because of the lack of records, primarily with expenditures.”
Seagrave wasn’t available for comment Wednesday.
Friends of Iowa State University warn of long-term problems if the records continue to be closed.
“Failure to restore confidence in the university’s handling of donor funds will almost certainly have a long-term negative effect of support for the institution,” the letter stated.
Thomas Mitchell, ISU Foundation president, said in an e-mailed statement he was not aware of the letter until Tuesday afternoon.
“Our initial reading of the letter suggests that we and the authors agree about a number of points,” he said.
“We further agree that the business of foundations should be as public as possible, while respecting the privacy of donors.”
Harl said Friends of Iowa State University plans to continue working for change.
“After the dust settles, we’ll meet to consider the next step,” Harl said.
The ISU Foundation Board of Directors will meet Friday at 1 p.m. in the Scheman Building.
